


Stranger's Advice

by aingealcethlenn



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Drinking, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 22:25:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17353751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aingealcethlenn/pseuds/aingealcethlenn
Summary: When Dean spots a young female hunter that he’s crossed paths with several times before, an old hunter offers Dean some advice hoping to save another young hunter from making the same mistakes he did.





	Stranger's Advice

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the Garth Brooks song “Ask Me How I Know”

Arriving at the Roadhouse, Sam took off to find Ash so they could go over - well, whatever it was they needed to talk about. This left Dean to himself, in the surprisingly crowded bar.  
  
Approaching the bar, he found an empty corner to lean against. Ellen brought a beer over for him, without any prompting before returning to the demand of the other hunters that were waiting on refills.  
  
As Dean glanced around the room, his eyes fell on a form that was leaning over the pool table. Her hair was up in a messy bun, tank top hugging her curves with her flannel shirt tied loosely around her waist.  
Hearing her voice was just more confirmation, he’d know that beautiful tone anywhere.  
  
“Pay up boys.” She smiled as she stood from taking the shot. Hand out, waiting for the money she was owed.  
  
Walking around the table, she reset the balls and glanced up at the bar. Hoping to grab the attention of Jo to bring another round of drinks over, she instead caught Dean’s gaze.  
Smiling softly, she could feel her cheeks warming.  
  
Quickly looking away, she spotted Jo walking away from a rowdy group, and called out.  
“Jo! Another round for me and the fellas here, huh?”  
  
“You got it Y/N!” She hollered back.  
  
The exchange between the hunters didn’t go completely unnoticed. Ellen made her way back to where Dean stood, just as the old hunter that was sitting on the last stool spoke up.  
  
“I know that look boy.” His voice was tired, like that of someone who had seen far too much in their time.  
  
“Huh?” Dean didn’t even notice the man sitting there when he had taken up his post.  
  
“That look in your eye. I’ve seen it before, and I’m sure I’ll see it plenty more in the time I have left” the man spoke firmly, yet in a concerned way.  
  
“I’ve seen it before too” Ellen added, “you can’t fool us Dean. You like that girl, don’t you?”  
  
“What? I..uh..n-no. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dean stammered, trying to brush off the accusation.  
  
“Yep, just like I thought.” The stranger paused, taking a small sip of the drink he held in his hand. “I know your type son” the man finally continued, “stubborn as they come, right? Think you’ll never settle down. Always on the move, never one to stick around too long. Set in your ways, that need for your freedom. That need to have your own space.”  
  
Dean’s eyes widened slightly, knowing this stranger was right. Ellen just nodded in agreement.  
“That’s just--that’s just the hunter life, isn’t it? Always off on another case in another town. Saving the world by killing one monster at a time, right?”  
  
“Maybe so Dean, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a home, and someone to go back to when that hunt is done,” Ellen interjected.  
  
“I have a home. Sammy and I have that car. It may not be a set of walls with a roof, but it’s our home.”  
  
“Trust me son, one day you’ll meet a girl and start feeling things you never felt before, and by the look in your eyes, that girl is standing right over there,” he nods toward the pool table where she is playing another round, and easily taking money from each hunter yet again.  
  
Dean couldn’t deny that there was something between him and Y/N, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It certainly couldn’t be love though, could it?  
  
“No,” Dean shook his head. “She and I just know each other is all. We’ve worked a few cases together. Nothing more.”  
  
“You go right on and shake your head boy, tell me I’m wrong and that I’m just some old fool. But I know how you are, because I know how I am. How I was.” He paused, taking a final sip of the liquid that was in the short glass in his hands, “and I’d give anything to go back and fix my mistake.” The old man looked down at his glass as Ellen topped it off with another round of whiskey.  
  
“You need more than just your brother to keep you grounded Dean.” Ellen leaned against the bar, ignoring the calls for her attention at the other end.  
  
“My mom’s right Dean, so is RJ here,” Jo chimed in. “Sometimes, it’s okay to let down your guard.”  
  
“I’m fine with just me and Sammy. Thank you all very much.” Dean stated flatly.  
  
“All I’m saying boy, is one day you’ll meet that girl that you swore you’d never find. You’ll start feeling things you never felt before, and you’ll end up spending all your time trying to figure out how she got that hold on you.”  
  
Deans gaze drifted back toward Y/N as she was laughing with a new group of men.  
Sure, maybe they were right. Maybe he did have feelings for her, but no woman wants to spend the rest of her life with a hunter. Worrying if he’ll make it home from the hunt, and if he does, if he’ll be in one piece.  
  
“And when you start to fall, you’ll hold onto your pride.” Dean’s attention was torn back to the man seated next to him, “you’ll start to build up your walls again, even thicker than before, and you won’t let her inside despite her best efforts.”  
  
Ellen nods in agreement. She’d seen plenty of hunters come through her bar, and knew they all shared similar traits in some way or another.  But maybe Dean could be different. Y/N was already a hunter, and a damn good one at that. Maybe, just maybe, she could be the one to open his eyes to something other than this life.  
  
“You’ll push her away, because that’s all you know how to do.” RJ’s voice broke through again, continuing on with his hope of saving Dean the pain he had gone through. “And when she leaves, because she will if you don’t let her see the real you, you won’t even bother to beg her not to. You’ll watch her walk out that door, with your pride intact but your heart in shambles. A pile of memories, that only she could possibly put back together.”  
  
RJ looked at Ellen, who just nodded, before looking to Dean.  
Dean could tell, the man meant every word. He could see his eyes glossed over, remembering the woman he had let go.  
  
Glancing back over to Y/N, Dean thought about the man’s words. Maybe he was right? Maybe, since she was already a hunter herself, things would be different. He wouldn’t have to hide who he was, he wouldn’t have to lie about where he was going just so she would be safe.  
  
Dean feels a hand grip his shoulder, “go to her son. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”  
  
Offering a nod, Dean took the first steps toward his future. Toward the girl that he was determined to spend the rest of his life with. However long, or short, that may be.


End file.
